Final piece of the puzzle

[Hissing Cobra]

Hey everyone, as the title of this thread states, the final piece of the puzzle is about to be installed. My 8.8 rearend is coming together for my Cobra at this moment.

Today, I completely disassembled the entire housing apart and cleaned/ground all the rust off. I then primed it. Tomorrow night, I'll paint it and then it'll be ready for the 31 spline axles, Detroit Locker unit, 4.30 gears, and complete rebuild kit. I also have a new SUMMIT aluminum rear cover for it as well. I also found the date stamps on it (not really important, but it's dated 2-89.)

This piece of the puzzle, as well as my upper/lower control arms are the final pieces that I need to get it ready for the dragstrip. I'm hoping to run low 12's at around 110 miles per hour in the quarter. I hope I come close!

By the way, I now have about 2,100 miles on my car since the completion of it in April and it's not had one breakdown. :D My 2nd show is next Sunday at Mustangs Unlimited in Manchester, Connecticut. It's the 2nd of 4 shows this season at that location. I hope I can bring home a trophy. If not, the 2.5 hour cruise (each way) and the meeting of participants will be enough to make me happy. ;)

Oh well, thanks for letting me babble on.

[Zap's 85 GT]

2.5 hour cruise (each way)

With 4.30's. Yikes! I can only imagine.

My buddy redid a 9" for his 68 F-100 and used POR 15 to paint it. It was almost too nice to install when it was all done.

[1hot86gt]

nice to here that last peice of the puzzle is being put in .good luck with the show , and the cruze there .

josh

[Hissing Cobra]

Thanks guys. With the 5 speed, the 4.30's aren't much of a problem on the highway. I'll still be able to cruise at 70-75 mph. I just hope the weather holds up. ;)

[madmike8]

Ok... take pics... I've got a 8.8 upgrade in the near future... and I'd like to see if there's any ideas I can steal... erm... learn from you. :D

I like that you've made your Cobra nice enough to be a car show trailor queen... but you still drive it...

[Hissing Cobra]

Update: Tomorrow night it will be installed. I can't wait! 8) I know that I'll be shifting a lot quicker now. Those 6,800 r.p.m.'s will really come up on me fast!

Anyway, we ran it three weeks ago with the 7.5 incher and could only muster up a 14.1 @ 102 mph. Two weeks from now we're going back to the track to try it with the upper/lower control arms in (along with the rearend/gears) and my brother's Mickey Thompson E.T. Streets on it. We'd like to get it into the 12's (obviously with my brother driving it, as I'm out of my element on the track. 8O ) If not, we'll keep trying/tuning until we finally do it (my brother likes to say that my car is teething right now.)

This will give me two weeks to beat on it :lol: before we head up there. Hopefully if something breaks, it'll happen locally and not 2+ hours away at the track. This car is a blast to drive!

[795.0pacecar]

Sounds good man, hope this isn't a car you drive often if your putting a detroit locker in it, those make all kinds of noise when your turning but to each his own, hope all goes well and you get in the 12s on your next try. :D

[BetterDays]

What gears were in it on the 14.1 pass?

[Hissing Cobra]

The original gears that came with the 7.5. I'm assuming that they're the 3.45's that came with all of the Turbo 4 cylinder powered Cobra's. I haven't yet checked the tag on the rearend, but I will tomorrow night. It appears to be the original rearend in the car (it's even got the aluminum rear brake drums with the steel liners which I believe was a Cobra only option.)

As for the Detroit Locker, well, It'll definitely be something that I'll have to acquire a taste for (like BEER!) Sometimes I get into my brother's '85 GT and his rearend is banging, clunking and everything else, and I wonder why I'm doing this. But, when I see him take off at the track, it's worth it. I've even asked him a few times, "Are you sure your rearend isn't broken? :lol: "

[795.0pacecar]

I think your gears were probably 3.27 but I guess we'll see when you decode the tag. I dont think the aluminum brake drums were a cobra only option, if memory serves me correctly I noticed my car had them too when I swapped to an 8.8.

[Hissing Cobra]

You're probably right. ;) My memory has been failing me lately (I don't know if it's a direct result of the 60 hour workweeks or not. :roll: )

[Coupester]

With modern day limited slip differentials (read: trak-loc), a Detroit Locker is not necessary unless your vehicle serves as a dedicated drag car. You can truly have the best of both worlds.

I suggest you look into a rebuilt trak-loc for that 8.8. You'll have much better driveability and just as much traction at the track. Hell, there are many guys running 9's on rebuilt factory (trak-loc) differentials in their 8.8's.

Chris

[Hissing Cobra]

Yeah, I know. ;) But we will be racing this thing quite a bit. I've already got all of the other drag related parts installed and the Locker is bought and paid for (I got it last October.) We've kind of modeled our cars after the '60's era musclecars (of which we're huge fans of.) The banging noises will go hand in hand with that '60's nostalgia (along with the dual quads.)

For the amount of money that I've invested, I probably could have gone with modern day parts like a supercharger or turbo, 4 wheel disc brakes, and a road racing suspension for not too much more. But......my brother's car is everything that I want mine to be. It's kinda like I'm paying homage to my idol.

[Coupester]

I understand your approach ... you're building a fox-body with tributes to both eras ... the 60s & 80s --and hell, even the 70s!!!

Ideally, a locker isn't the optimal choice, but I understand your decision based on the "feel factor," or the feedback that such a device gives you when driving around. Clearly, you're going for more of a brawny, unrefined, muscle car feeling, in comparison to a plush, smooth, quiet experience.

I guess this is the reason you're using a 2-carb setup, when you'd achieve better fuel atomization with one carburetor --say a 750 DP.

But, I clearly see your vision and have loved your taste and attention to detail since day one!

One question though, being the drag racing/ street pounding/ muscle machine that it is, why is your a/ compressor still installed :D ???

[Hissing Cobra]

Well, I would still like to have the AC. Ya gotta have cool air in the summer. :lol: As for the outline that you provided on my car, you hit the nail right on the head!

I would definitely get better fuel mileage with a 750 and be faster in the 1/4 mile too. That brawny, seat of the pants feel is exactly what I'm after. My brother's car is like a caged animal clawing to get out, while my friends '93 Vortech supercharged '93 Cobra is like a cheetah, smooth and refined. Because of the blower, his car is obviously faster (400 h.p. at the wheels) but it's a much different kind of power. So, I know exactly what you're talking about. ;)

I do regret that I won't be making donut videos like your car does though. :lol: That video is classic hot rodding at it's finest. 8)

[Hissing Cobra]

Well, the work is all done and I'll tell ya, IT ROCKS! This mod is by far the biggest kick in the butt mod that I've done. Revving the engine to 5 grand and dumping the clutch produces a car that INSTANTLY goes sideways many times in first gear, continues well into second gear, and finally stops as you're about to enter 3rd gear! I didn't go back to check the rubber marks, but I can assure you that they were extremely long. :lol:

I've never experienced that in any car in my entire life. My brother even said, "Man, mine doesn't even do this." Well, we'll see what the quarter mile brings next week.

If you guys haven't yet done gears, I highly suggest it. Combine them with some upper/lower control arms too, to get the maximum amount of power to the ground.. ;)

[BetterDays]

I didn't go back to check the rubber marks, but I can assure you that they were extremely long.

Go back and take pictures.. lots of them!!!!

[Hissing Cobra]

Ha, Ha! :lol: :lol: I would if it were nearby. I did this in my brother's town, about 30 minutes away, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY. It's the only place that we'll test the cars, by ourselves, in the middle of the night.

It was around 1:00 a.m. and we drove it out to the middle of the highway, (a stretch with about 5 miles between exits) stopped, and then let it rip! :lol: Instantly, I was sideways and over/understeering to keep it straight. I banged off 2nd gear and it was sideways all over. 8) Clicking off 3rd finally got the car straightened out and we were off! Exhilerating it definitely was! :lol:

I've never driven a car that was this beastly. It's a blast! I can't wait until next weekend when we go to the track. We'll be bolting on my brother's E.T. streets and hope to improve on our previous 14.1 @ 102. I'll let you all know what happens when we get back. ;)

[fredzilla]

Where are you racing your car next week Epping N.H. or
or somewhere in Conn?

That burnout you did last night wouldnt of been down 495
or was it. The speed limit on that road is 65 m.p.h. HA.. ;)

[Hissing Cobra]

Nope, it wasn't 495. As for the track, it'll be Epping, in New Hampshire. I don't advocate street racing, nor burnouts, etc...etc...etc...on the streets. We don't do these things too often, only when testing out new parts, combinations, etc...etc...etc... Late at night, when nobody is around is the only time that we'll take a chance.

I strongly wish that there were tracks in Massachusetts. It would certainly keep most reckless street racers off the public roads. I firmly believe that.

[Coupester]

Glad to hear you're taming that h/c/i setup ... the fun is in getting loose :twisted:

When you're feeling more and more confident:

2500rpm in 1st, nail the gas, the tires will light up, powershift the 1-2 shift and turn the wheel 90* at the same time ... it'll reeeeally bring the car around.

Try dumping the clutch at the rev limiter in 2nd ... see how far it'll burn the tires ... several hundred feet with those 4.30's :twisted:

and ....

VIDEOS please!!!